The committee has noted that your story transcript is ready to be performed at our festival. Congrats! We will perform this transcript at our January event and email you as soon as it's posted online.Chapter Review: Who Killed Honor Bright

This chapter excerpt from Who Killed Honor Bright was a rare treasure and a pleasure to read. The chapter tells the story of Lily O’Neill, her lover and the now famous poet William Yeats, and the corrupt and massive cover up that resulted from Lily’s murder, which threatened the existence of the newly formed Irish Free State. Though it is based on (circumstantially) factual events and manages to maintain the credibility and structure expected of a nonfiction historical piece, this excerpt also maintains all the qualities of a good mystery thriller: gasp-worthy conspiracies, the secret lives of the rich, powerful, and famous, and a scandalous injustice that reminds one of a murder-version of the Scarlet Letter, where a good woman’s name is ruined for the sake of a powerful man.

The author is obviously a skilled writer with a notable mastery of plot structure and character description. The excerpt starts off strong with the visual and powerful sentence:

“In 1926 policemen had to be male, physically fit, of imposing build, able to handle a gun, and able to gain control of the local populace by force if necessary; Leopold J. Dillon fitted the picture exactly.”

Though there is a minor grammatical error in this sentence that the author needs to fix (add in comma after “1926”), this is a perfect example of a succinct and effective character introduction that easily conjures an image of Leopold J. Dillon, while subtly molding our opinion of him.The characters and actions that the author writes seem to leap off the page to provide a mental picture for the reader, resulting in a strong emotional attachment to Lily’s murder and a great potential for the book to be adapted into a screenplay, due to its strong visual images. The only critique that can be provided for the story line, from a historical viewpoint, is the lack of concrete evidence provided. Though the author does consistently say that evidence will be provided later in the story--and while it is favorable to focus on the interesting details of the story rather than getting bogged down by dry evidentiary details—it is advisable to include one to two small pieces of concrete evidence in a few more circumstantial sections, such as the analysis of William Yeatss poem on page 5, to lend credence to the authors story.

However, in general, I was amazed that the author was able to deliver such an incredible amount of factual information, names, and dates while still maintaining the backbone of a fascinating story that is accessible to the average reader. This is a talent that not many writers, or even historians, can boast of, and the author should be extremely proud of their work, especially with the amount of effort that seemed to go into its completion.

More 2015 Reviews:

Your account very much brought out how interesting, if harrowing, the political context was at the time.I am quite impressed at you researching such a major figure as Yeats (and associates), given the clearly quite entrenched positions. Good luck! Eystein Thanisch

Yeats is so lauded for his unrequited love of Maud Gonne that it is interesting to see how his relationship with his own wife and mistress developed, and how these women competed and contended between each other in his non-literary world. You've given me a lot of food for thought, here.Bonnie Roos

I am an honors history graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. We had covered the history of how your grandmother may have been killed this year at University and it seems her death led to a commission investigation on Juvenile prostitution in 1930. It became known as the Carrigan Committee. A report was produced but buried by the government as it had exposed that young women in Dublin were being used as prostitutes as young a 13 years old. I have been enthralled by the work you have done so far a truly amazing piece of research, and a fitting tribute to your grandmothers memory.Audrey Smith June 23rd 2015

Well that is an amazing story! It sounds ...like a thriller; names being changed, traces hidden and a murder. And you found something no one else has found before and people criticise it - that is always good... because it touches people and makes them think. Now I'm even more eager to read your book... maybe there's a Yeats expert among my teachers with whom I can discuss it.Felix Leidner, Goettingen University, Germany

It is very well written. Your claims are stunning. Have you considered sending it (and accompanying analysis of poems) to Roy Foster?Padraig Yeates,1913 Committee.ie

Fascinating. I find the story you've told quite plausible for political and other reasons ...Good luck with your work … It will be an uphill battle given the story's very controversial nature ...I wonder what Prof. R. F. Foster, perhaps the most prominent Yeats historian, would say about this?Professor Kerby Miller, Missouri University﻿I like it. Congrats on seizing the initiative and publishing books that challenge the consensus.﻿Kenneth Sheehy, PhD History, University College Cork, Ireland I hadn't heard anything … until I viewed your LinkedIn profile. What a discovery!Michelle Dunne

"An amazing amount of dialogue and commentary! I read through in one day and it was very telling on the morality and politics of the era in Ireland and England.Tying into Yeats's actual work and including interpretations is brilliant. It's changed my take on him, not because of his morality but because of his weakness. He was certainly the opposite of George in her strength and wile. He set out in life on such a loose path, he became a prisoner of it all, didn't he? I think you have a major accomplishment with this work and have kept your promise to your father and family for the generations ahead.Thanks so much for a very impactful and well thought-out piece of literature.Best Regards - Linda J Pifer"